Williamsville Class of 2014 sets high bar

Williamsville High School senior class president Jonathan Miller said he would say something inspiring to start off the class of 2014 graduation ceremony Sunday night.

“But first, let me take a selfie,” he said, pausing at the podium to take a picture with the rest of the 108 students in the graduating class at the University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Auditorium.

This class has been together for 13 years, student council president Haley Freschi said. In that time, they’ve achieved accomplishments that have set the bar high for future senior classes.

“One thing I can say about them is they have an unbelievable heart and drive in the arts, the academics and the athletics,” assistant principal Adam Eucker said. “On the last day of school, I told the classes following that they have a lot to live up to. There are some big shoes to fill.”

In their individual speeches, principal Doug Furlow, valedictorian Jacob Beal and salutatorian Marty Pesch highlighted some of these accomplishments.

Fourteen students will compete in college athletics. Two students were Illinois High School Association All-State Academic Team members, something only 26 students in the state achieve. The average ACT score for the class was 23.1.

The class also had a record number of National Honor Society members and raised more than $6,000 during a penny drive this past year.

Based on their GPAs and ACT scores, the students ranked 38th in the state. Rachel Rhodes, who will attend University of Notre Dame in the fall, anchored the 4x400-meter relay team that won a state title Saturday.

“We’re pretty much good at everything,” Beal said.

Both Pesch and Beal will attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fall. Pesch plans to major in mechanical engineering, and Beal will major in bioengineering.

“We’ve had no problems with this group,” Furlow said. “They’ve been incredible.”

The school awarded three separate scholarships.

The seven recipients of the Orlene Drobisch Moore Scholarship each received $7,000 with a renewable $5,000 for three subsequent years. The recipients are: Miller, Rhodes, Abigail Deutsch, Danielle Hunt, Anna Kluemke, Annelise Mool and Tyler Nichols.

Kluemke and Miller, who were also awarded the Williamsville Education Association Scholarship, each received $1,000.

Rachel Haworth and Miller, the recipients of the Michael Sphung Scholarship, each received $250.

In total, the graduating class received more than $1 million in scholarships and tuition waivers.

“(What sets us apart is) how diverse what we do at Williamsville is,” Pesch said. “We don’t just do athletics or the arts. Everyone does a piece of it, and we’re all successful.”